Big ideas to fix the economy: boost housing prices

On the heels of the debt ceiling crisis, Congress has established a “super committee” to find ways to reduce America’s debt.   The twelve-member committee began work on debt-reduction strategies this week, aiming to come up with a plan to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion by Thanksgiving of this year.  But as lawmakers lock horns over where to find spending cuts, we’ve been asking our listeners for suggestions on how to fix the economy. One suggestion our listeners had was to boost housing prices. Christopher Mayer, Paul Milstein professor of real estate at Columbia Business School,  joins us to discuss what the government might do to raise the cost of the average home, and how this strategy would help the economy.  Marthenia Dupree, a Takeaway listener from Miami, also joins us. Dupree is underwater on her home and looking for a solution.